christmas shopping. and some amazing random acts of kindness. "early today" starts right now. >> announcer: this is "early today" for friday, november 30th, 2012. good morning, everyone. i'm lynn berry. folks in parts of the northwest are hunkering down for a weekend of potentially record breaking snow, wind and rain. the national weather service issued a number of severe warnings. get this. california's mt. shasta could see an incredible 18 feet of snow over the next several days. nbc's meteorologist bill karins has details for us. bill, what can you tell us? >> as far as the snow goes, that's at the highest of elevations where no one lives. the only areas that will get the snow is possibly to the south in the central cascades. it's really the rainfall that's the big concern, the amount that's going to go into these rivers basins. as they accumulate and it continues to rain over the weekend, we're going to have

flooding concerns. this morning we're soaked right now. the heaviest rains have shifted into the mountains. it's still raining pretty good. san francisco to san jose, a continuous steady rain out there. the real downpours have moved towards yuba city. this storm system is one piece of it. you can see the plume coming into california. there's another piece behind that has to kick through on saturday. it doesn't look like until monday, lynn, this area will have a dry day. major concerns especially in northern california at this point. >> bill, thanks so much. elsewhere today, the first of the two grand prize powerball winners will come forward to reveal themselves and have their lives changed forever. and there's also buzz about a potential code with the winning numbers. nbc's kerry sanders has that story. >> reporter: in tiny dearborn, missouri, where just about everyone knows everyone, the question is was it one of their own that bought the winning powerball ticket at the local trex mart? >> it's exciting. very exciting. we never, ever thought that we would sell the winning ticket and here it is, we did.

>> reporter: folks in this farming community just off interstate 70 are now trying to figure out if the winning numbers were chosen with meaning. dearborn is but 35 miles north of kansas city, home of the royals baseball team. those winning lottery numbers, they match royals hall-of-famers, brett, gubiza, jackson, leonard, quisenberry, the powerball was wilson. the one outlier, bo jackson. while not a baseball hall-of-famer, he was the first athlete to be named an all-star in two major american sports, baseball and football. number 23, gubiza, now a major league announcer, has heard the theory all day. >> i hope it's because they really liked us six the most in kansas city history. >> and while it's an odd coincidence, the baseball team's spring training is in arizona where the other winning lottery ticket was sold, at this chevron station in fountain hills, a suburb 26 miles outside of phoenix. again, the question here, who bought the winning ticket?

>> yeah. yeah. this is excellent. i'm so surprised. it's wonderful. i'd like to know who it is because, you know, fountain hills is a pretty small town and you know most everybody. >> that was nbc's kerry sanders reporting. well, elsewhere, despite american objections, the united nations general assembly voted to recognize palestine as a non-member state. palestinians celebrated, but the u.s. says it is an obstacle to peace talks. nbc's danielle lee joins us with those details. danielle, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, lynn. it's a bit of a loss for the u.s. and israel. the peer is that yesterday's vote will make palestine less likely to negotiate a peace agreement with israel moving forward. yesterday the united nations overwhelmingly voted to upgrade palestine's status to a non-member state and that could allow them to go after israel in criminal court which could delay

or complicate peace talks in an effort towards forming two independent states of palestine and israel moving forward. u.n. ambassador susan rice called the vote a setback. the u.s. had threatened funding in the west bank in the hopes of preventing it. now rice says that the only way to truly form an independent palestinian state is through direct negotiations with israel. she says that is something the u.s. is committed to making happen. despite those comments, palestinians took to the streets yesterday in a step towards independence. now do both sides come to the table and start talking about peace. both israel and palestine has said that is something they want. reporting live in washington, back to you. >> all right, danielle. thanks so much. well, secretary of state hillary clinton is weighing in on two major mid east situations, both with great u.s. interest involved. amid reports the obama administration is preparing to recognize syria's opposition counsel as the legitimate representative of the people, clinton notes rebels are now able to hold their ground and take the fight to government forces. >> we have been deeply involved in helping to stand them up, and

we're going to carefully consider what more we can do. >> and on iran's nuclear ambitions, clinton says with the u.s. election over, now is the time to see if there's hope for negotiating in good faith. >> there is still a window of opportunity to reach some kind of resolution. all right. back to main street u.s.a. yesterday in sandy stricken new jersey and new york a secret santa was handing out $100 bills. the anonymous missouri man sought out people who had been devastated by hurricane sandy. and while he plans to hand out $100,000 in total, he says it's not about the money, it's about committing random acts of kindness. which he surely did. and speaking of random acts, this new york city police officer did something incredibly kind for a homeless veteran in need, and he did it when he thought no one else was looking. >> reporter: it was a moment of kindness captured in a photograph.

an nypd officer helping an apparently homeless man. >> it was freezing, and the first thing i thought was like this is absolutely unacceptable. so i went up to him. i was like, where are your socks or your shoes or anything? >> reporter: officer larry deprimo says he was so moved by what he saw he went into this store to find the man a pair of shoes. >> it's kind of hard not to be inspired. again, it was a regular night. it was pretty busy. you know, business as usual. but, again, this officer kind of took the time to kind of -- saw something, kind of came in and took that extra step. >> reporter: jose caro was working in the sketchers store at the time. news 4 has obtained security video from the store. caro helped him find a pair of waterproof boots and he let the officer use his employee discount. officer deprimo signed for his purchase and the two shook hands. jennifer foster, a tourist from arizona, watched as deprimo gave the man a brand new pair of boots. >> this man's face lit up like it was christmas and like he had just been given literally a million dollars.

>> news 4 has learned that the man in the picture is a veteran who was at one time homeless. sources say he often panhandles in time square and was placed in veterans housing sometime in the past year. it's not clear if he still has a place to live. whatever the man's situation, officer deprimo is humbled that he'll have the image of that moment forever. >> when i look at the picture i'm very happy that i'll be able to carry that with me the rest of my career. again, it's a very humbling experience for me. >> and officer larry deprimo will be on the "today" show later this morning. that will be a must-see. here once again is nbc meteorologist bill karins. >> i mentioned it's going to rain and rain and rain. how much rain is the question. the storm is focused and the heaviest rain over central and northern california. that's where the heaviest rainfall amounts are going to occur. adds the storm system continues to plot onshore, the rainfall totals will peak today, get another break and we'll get

another heavy batch tomorrow. it looks like the mountains getting from six to eight inches. from san francisco northward, at least two to four inches. as we go throughout the forecast for today, thankfully temperatures are pretty warm. we don't have to worry too much about snow out there. even the rain to the northwest won't be quite as heavy. it will be on and off and even some of the rain showers are we get on saturday. we'll be watching the rivers closely saturday night into sunday morning. >> i think i've kind of given away the weekend forecast. it's not great. bill, thanks so much. is the adult mommy book "fifty shades of grey" affecting what we're naming baby girls? consumer reports on the

nation's best wireless carriers. is yours one of them. you're watching "early today."

welcome back. stories making news this morning. in egypt, president mohammed morsi is expected to approve a new constitution passed by the assembly as early as saturday. that may mean an end to the protests against morsi's decree giving himself new powers. former president george h.w. bush is expected to leave a houston hospital by the weekend. the 88-year-old was treated for bronchitis and a lingering cough. private bradley manning spoke at a hearing on charges he faces for leaking secrets to wikileaks. he told a military judge he was kept in solitary confinement and only allowed 20 minutes outdoors per day. supreme court justice is meeting behind closed doors regarding same-sex marriage. they're expected to take up at least one of them, most likely a challenge to the defense of marriage act which defines a marriage as a union between one man and with mon.

joe biden went shopping and tasted food and bought children's books, a big screen tv and an apple pie. a the new list of the most popular baby names for 2012 is just out. top names for boys, aiden, jackson, ethan, liam, and mason. and top names for girls all end in the letter a. sophia, emma, olivia, isabella, and ava. and in a surprising twist, the popular book "50 shades of grey" seems to have influenced the list with anna moving higher on the list. well, another day of fiscal cliff drama made for choppy trading on wall street thursday. stocks reversed early gains and fell shortly after house speaker john boehner dashed hopes that lawmakers were getting closer to agreeing on a year-end budget deal. but all three major markets bounced back by the afternoon. economic data was positive at home thursday. we'll see what impact there is today from grim news out of europe. eurozone unemployment has hit another record high at 11.7% in october. meanwhile, a number of

retailers posted poor sales hammered by superstorm sandy's impact on the northeast. a bankruptcy judge has given hostess final clearance to start selling off assets and approved $1.8 million in bonuses for company executives. verizon wireless tops this year's "consumer reports'" ranking of major carriers. it was at&t that came in last behind sprint and t-mobile, except among 4g users where it was the best. where is the best country to be born in 2013? well, when factoring in life expectancy, divorce rates, and rainfall, it's switzerland according to "the economist." the u.s. tied with germany at 16. well, why is basketball legend michael jordan ban friday a miami golf course. plus, when tigers attack, it's all caught on tape. that's next.

well, stories making news across america this morning. we begin with a deadly tiger attack at a virginia zoo. it was all caught on tape. children and their parents witnessed a female white tiger killed by a bengal tiger after she took what appeared to be a playful swipe. the animal has been isolated until officials determine how to integrate it back into the tiger exhibit. well, a giant sinkhole the size of four football fields is endangering homes and has shut down one state road. the massive mess in ohio is believed to be caused by a combination of sand dredging and land erosion. the road will be closed until

engineers figure out how to permanently repair the road. and finally, two indiana friends had a good laugh at the expense of family and friends after posting a facebook photo of the $1 million powerball ticket. after being congratulated just a few times there, they revealed the photo was a hoax. they're still smiling though. well, in sports, thursday night football, falcons, saints. atlanta quarterback matt ryan connected with tight end tony gonzalez and the falcons took the lead in the first half. the saints came back, but drew brees was intercepted five times and his record streak of consecutive games with a touchdown pass ended at 54 as atlanta beat new orleans, 23-13. to college football where louisville took the lead on a third quarter touchdown pass and wrapped up the 20-17 win over rutgers on a field goal in the closing minutes. that gives louisville the big east title and a bid to a bcs bowl game. in college basketball, manti te'o, notre dame's football linebacker and heisman award candidate, cheers on the

unranked irish as they upset number 8 kentucky. irish won 64-50. the new york yankees reportedly have a new one-year deal for $10 million with closer mariano rivera who missed most of last season with a knee injury. >> superstar michael jordan was playing golf in cargo shorts similar to these when he was asked to change but he refused. the country club in miami asked him to never return and he left. los angeles lakers center dwight howard was challenged to a shooting contest by the lion head mascot of the sacramento kings who made every shot he took while in full costume and embarrassed the superstar. i bet so. and, finally, lebron james jr., that's the 8-year-old son of miami heat star apparently got some of those basketball genes and he proved it by hitting a long trick shot from the balcony of their home to the hoop in their driveway.

those are some good genes. well, just ahead, matthew perry jumps into the "two and a half men" controversy, plus an update on halle berry's thanksgiving day brawl. you're watching "early today."

here are scenes from southern california. orange county, huntington beach area. large wave ace head of the storm system moving in. great for the surfers and their wet suits. that's about all the storm is good for. here is a little different perspective on how bad your

weather could be. our friends in fairbanks under the coldest air in the northern hemisphere, minus 29 degrees. that's where winter is. the forecast, each and every day pretty much the same. the good chance of heavy rain this morning and a little break later today. then another batch of heavy rain is going to come in saturday. then sunday it looks like it lingers over the region that spreads to the northern rockies. so not until monday it looks like the west will get an all dry day. >> a much-needed break, but not until monday. well, halle berry's thanksgiving day drama seems to be winding down. progress has been made regarding the holiday fistfight between halle berry's ex-boyriend, gabriel aubry, and her current fiance. in a statement berry's lawyer said she and aubry have reached an amicable agreement. berry had a restraining order put into effect after the fight to keep aubry from seeing their 4-year-old daughter. well, lindsay lohan was arrested thursday for allegedly punching a woman in the face at the new york city nightclub. the woman who was punched is a tourist visiting from west palm beach and now has quite a story to tell back home.

joe jackson, the father of michael jackson, is recovered from a mild stroke thursday, his third in five years. on sunday fans of "dallas" will be able to pay their respects to the late larry hagman during a public memorial service at southfork ranch. and finally, angus t. jones's brutal "two and a half men" video has inspired "go on's" matthew perry to speak out as well. >> my show, "go on," is a complete abomination with terrible morals. don't watch my show. i want you to stop watching nbc's "go on." now this isn't the first time that i've trashed one of my shows after a spiritual awakening. in 2006 i begged people to stop watching "studio 60." now that video was very successful. no one watched that show. >> is that what happened? >> yeah, that was why. >> right. >> this show is doing well, "go on." >> it is doing well. >> i am a big fan. i need to get you on board. >> i need to find time to watch

television. yes, i've heard it's great. i'm lynn berry. this is "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station.

in russia, december 21st is no laughing matter. siberian shops have begun selling apocalypse kits. the kits come outfitted with various foods and items as well as fire starters. kit creators say their product

was meant to make light of excessive apocalypse fears, but sales were going well. a shanghai trade fair set the stage for a dance-off between pieces of heavy machinery. skilled drivers maneuvered the construction giants to dance to the beat of gangnam style. between jumps and spins, both the front loader and 25-ton excavator were obvious crowd pleasers. one canadian student figured out how to give a taste of his own medicine. the geology major was less than pleasedality the school's new fee for paying tuitions via credit card. he wheeled 220 pounds of change into the office. saying if they were going to nickel and dime him, they were

going to nickel and dime them. >> i would never have done that to make a point. >> you would have done pennies, not just coins. time for a look back. on this date in 1982 michael jackson released "thriller," the album which would later become the best-selling album of all time. just two years later, jackson's record company threw a huge party to celebrate the incredible success. check out this 1984 report by nbc's john dancy. >> reporter: new york's museum of natural history seemed more like a disco than a museum last night. but it wasn't the alligators or elephants who were dancing, it was michael jackson. his money making "thriller" album has given cbs records such a thrill that they threw a party for jackson at the museum. jackson's recent scalp burns did not seem to affect his foot work. among the guests were exotic stuffed birds and monkeys and 1500 humans. all day long you can stay on top of the very latest developments in those stories and others as they break on msnbc. and tonight be sure to watch

"nbc nightly news" with brian williams. and, finally, here's a look at what's coming up later this morning on the "today" show. in a "today" exclusive hear from a childhood friend of one of the reported powerball winners and the police officer whose random act of kindness has gone viral will be live in the studio to share the story. keep it on this channel for continuing local news, weather, sports and more. i'm lynn berry. thanks for watching "early today," just the first stop of the day today on your nbc station. have a great weekend.

n good morning. i'm bob redell. we're going to take you live to the south bay where police are investigating a possible home invasion robbery. that story coming